Generally, precipitation or impregnation methods that add compounds of metal to preformed refractory supports (such as alumina or silica) are used to prepare small-particle, cobalt Fischer-Tropsch catalysts. During commercial production of these catalysts, precipitations on a large scale require aging conditions for the precipitate-support slurry that are the same as the precipitation conditions. However, precise control of process conditions is difficult.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method for forming a cobalt-containing Fischer-Tropsch catalyst which permits precise control of process conditions. There is also a need for a method for forming a cobalt-containing and acidic support-containing Fischer-Tropsch catalyst that preserves the strong acidity of the acidic support, while providing a highly active Fischer-Tropsch component. Additionally, there is a need for a method for forming a cobalt-containing Fischer-Tropsch catalyst having good selectivity for the formation of liquid hydrocarbon products (i.e. C5-C20).